Pulmonary Services

Thank you for thinking of Respiratory Consultants of Georgia as a place to seek health care for your pulmonary (lung) disease, critical care (intensive care unit treatment), and sleep disorder care condition. Respiratory Consultants of Georgia is a medical practice providing care in a hospital setting for both inpatient and outpatient services as well as in office care.

Our goal is to provide you excellent medical care with a warm caring touch.

We are specialists in the care of pulmonary (lung) disease, critical care (intensive care unit treatment), and sleep disorder care. We help patients face challenges in each of these distinct areas of medicine:

Pulmonary Medicine is concerned with diseases of the lungs and bronchial tubes, but can include the evaluation of the upper respiratory tract, heart and vascular system. Pulmonary specialists evaluate and treat diseases such as emphysema, asthma, lung cancer or complicated chest infections. Many times we are consulted by other physicians to evaluate patients before surgery or assist in a complicated case. We are often asked to participate in care when there is an x-ray or CT scan abnormality or to evaluate shortness of breath. We as pulmonary specialists do not perform major surgery, however; we frequently perform special procedures such as thoracentesis (the removal of fluid from the chest), bronchoscopy (the examination of the bronchial tubes), and right heart catheterization (measuring pressures within the heart). If a major surgical procedure is necessary, we often work closely with a thoracic surgeon before and after the surgical procedure.

Critical Care Medicine is care provided for patients in the intensive care unit. Critically ill patients may have respiratory failure, sepsis (serious infection), shock (very low blood pressure), severe neurologic diseases, circulatory failure, kidney failure, liver failure or metabolic diseases. Critical care is provided in the hospital or other emergency setting. Very often, several physicians are involved in the care of the critically ill patient and our specialty will frequently spearhead the interaction of the medical team caring for the patient as well as keeping good communication with the family about their loved one.

Sleep Medicine is a specialty that involves various sleep-related disruption such as sleep apnea (short episodes where breathing stops during sleep), severe snoring, insomnia, excessive daytime sleepiness, narcolepsy and restless leg syndrome. There are different diagnostic tests that may be performed to diagnose the exact sleep disturbance. The main test involves a sleep study or polysomnogram where patients go to a sleep center and their sleep is monitored in conjunction with their respiratory status. After diagnosing the disturbance, we will work with the patient to find solutions to improve the sleep cycle. Studies show that patients who ignore sleep cycle disruptions are at much higher risk to serious life threatening illness such as heart disease. Many patients find that after treating their sleep disruption, they have much more energy and are able to do more everyday activities.